PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Privitera

Publications and source records attributed to G Privitera.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Biliary excretion of rufloxacin in humans.

Rufloxacin is a new once-daily antibacterial fluoroquinolone with a long half-life. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the plasma and biliary kinetics and biliary and urinary excretion of rufloxacin in patients with extrahepatic cholestasis. Twelve patients with total external percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage were given a single oral dose of 400 mg of rufloxacin. Plasma, bile, and urine samples and fractions were collected over 72 h after drug administration. Rufloxacin and its major metabolite, the N-desmethyl derivative, were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Maximum rufloxacin concentrations in plasma and bile (means +/- standard deviations) were 4.05 +/- 1.38 micrograms/ml and 8.24 +/- 7.16 micrograms/ml, respectively, and were reached in 4.2 +/- 3.0 h and 4.2 +/- 3.5 h, respectively. The terminal elimination half-life of rufloxacin in plasma was 45.1 +/- 13.5 h. Apparent plasma clearance was 31.3 +/- 10.5 ml/min, while biliary clearance was 0.4 +/- 0.2 ml/min and renal clearance was 12.7 +/- 6.0 ml/min. In 72 h, 0.9% +/- 0.8% of the dose given was recovered in bile and 27.2% +/- 12.0% was recovered in urine. Biliary concentrations exceeded the MICs of most common biliary tract pathogens for at least 24 h after administration. The broad antibacterial spectrum of rufloxacin and its high and prolonged biliary concentrations suggest that this drug may be useful for treatment of biliary tract infections.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1992

Infections in the surgical setting: epidemiology and effect of treatment with cefotaxime in a multicenter trial including 3,032 patients.

Hospital-acquired infections still represent a serious threat to the surgical patient. A nationwide survey of 259 Italian surgical wards involving 11,343 patients was conducted in October 1988. Hospital-acquired infections were recorded in 565 (5%) patients: the microorganisms most commonly involved were gram-negative rods (60% of all isolates), 41% of the infected patients presented one or more intrinsic predisposing factor, and 65% had undergone some invasive procedure. The studied group represented 23% of all surgical patients in the country on the days of the survey. Following the epidemiologic survey, an open multicenter study was conducted in the same wards to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of cefotaxime (1 g, 2 or 3 times per day) in the treatment of nosocomial surgical infections. Among 3,032 evaluable patients, 1,295 intra-abdominal, 610 wound and soft tissue, 554 urinary, and 367 respiratory infections were observed. Treatment was judged to be clinically effective in 94% of patients, and side effects, mostly involving the gastrointestinal tract, were observed in 1.4% of patients; but interruption of the treatment was required only in 19 patients (0.6%). This study confirms that cefotaxime, after over a decade of use, retains high efficacy in the treatment for nosocomial infections and induces a low rate of side effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Prospective study of Clostridium difficile intestinal colonization and disease following single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery.

A total of 108 volunteers undergoing an elective surgical procedure were randomly given a single 2-g intravenous prophylactic dose of either a cephalosporin or mezlocillin. Stool samples were cultured for Clostridium difficile the day before the operation and later on postoperative days 4, 7, and 14. C. difficile was detected in 23.0% of patients who received a cephalosporin (cefoxitin, 8.3%; cefazolin, 14.3%; cefotetan, 20.0%; ceftriaxone, 25.0%; cefoperazone, 43.7%), in 3.3% of patients given mezlocillin, and in none of 15 control volunteers given no antimicrobial agent. No patient experienced diarrhea.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[Magnetic resonance in the evaluation of parametrial involvement in carcinoma of the cervix uteri].

Cervical carcinoma is one of the most frequent gynecologic malignancies. Its prognosis depends on both tumor volume at diagnosis and its stage. Staging accuracy is important not only for prognosis but also for optimal treatment planning. According to FIGO criteria, carcinomas without parametrial involvement (stage I and limited stage IIA disease) can be surgically treated. For more advanced stages, treatment, in most cases, consists of radiation therapy or chemotherapy alone. The authors evaluated MR accuracy in the diagnosis of parametrial involvement; to this purpose, 32 patients with histologically proven lesions were referred for MR imaging, which was performed with a 0.5 T superconductive magnet. Transverse and sagittal SE images were obtained with T2 weighting (TR 1800 ms, TE 30-100 ms); transverse and sometimes sagittal images were obtained with T1 weighting (TR 450/300 ms, TE 20/30). T1-weighted images distinguished neoplasm from cervical stroma or dense parametrial connective tissue in 40% of cases only. T2-weighted images, instead, demonstrated the difference in all cases, showing tumor as a hyperintense area in 90% of patients. Neoplastic involvement of pericervical connective tissue was diagnosed, with those sequences, on the basis of focal disruptions of the outer hypointense fibrous cervical stroma; findings were correlated with those from a previous clinical staging and in 26/32 patients with pathologic findings. MR accuracy in demonstrating parametrial involvement was 88%, sensitivity was 77% and specificity was 94%. Clinical staging accuracy in the evaluation of this parameter was 66%. In 6 cases with no surgical findings, MR confirmed extensive parametrial and vesical or rectal neoplastic involvement, as diagnosed at clinics. MR imaging, thanks to its multiplanar and multiparametric imaging capabilities is a very reliable technique in the preoperative staging of cervical carcinoma. Moreover, since clinical staging can sometimes underestimate pericervical connective spread, the higher accuracy of MR imaging can help avoid useless interventional procedures.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Third generation cephalosporins as a risk factor for Clostridium difficile-associated disease: a four-year survey in a general hospital.

The main clinical features of patients who developed pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) or Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD) during their stay at the S. Anna General Hospital, Como, over the period February 1984 to May 1988, are reported. Forty patients developed either CDAD (ten cases) or PMC (30 cases). Twenty-seven (65.7%) had undergone surgery and 32 (80.0%) had received prolonged antibiotic treatment. Three patients (7.5%) were given three doses only of ceftriaxone. Five patients (12.5%) had not received any antibiotic treatment; but three were nursed in a bed next to a patient with PMC-CDAD. The number of cases diagnosed were correlated retrospectively with the cumulative consumption of different groups of antibiotics on wards in which PMC or CDAD occurred. A significant difference (P less than 0.01) between third generation cephalosporins (16 cases) and ureidopenicillins (one case), was found. Twenty-five patients were treated with oral vancomycin. Two died of the underlying disease and 23 were cured. The disease recurred clinically in three, and follow-up cultures were positive in another asymptomatic case. Fifteen patients (all PMC cases) were treated with oral teicoplanin. All were clinically cured and remained asymptomatic and all but one were also cleared of C. difficile. No adverse reactions were observed in patients given either drug. Third generation cephalosporins, even when administered as short-term perioperative prophylaxis, but not ureidopenicillins, are significantly associated with C. difficile-related diseases. Teicoplanin proved to be very effective and safe in the treatment of PMC, and should be further evaluated there.

Cephalosporins↗
PubMed1989

Treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated disease with teicoplanin.

Forty-seven patients affected by Clostridium difficile-associated disease were treated orally with either vancomycin (patients hospitalized from February 1984 to February 1987) or teicoplanin (from March 1987 to December 1988). All patients given teicoplanin remained asymptomatic after discontinuation of treatment, and all but one were also cleared of C. difficile. In the vancomycin group, clinical symptoms recurred in 3 of 23 evaluable patients, and follow-up cultures were positive in another asymptomatic case.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1988

Radio-hyperthermia for subcutaneous metastasis of hemangiopericytoma of the mediastinum: case report.

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare type of neoplasia originating from the Zimmermann pericytes and can arise in numerous sites. As it is difficult to correlate the histologic aspect with the prognosis, it was considered advisable to take account of other factors such as age and tumoral site. Aggressive surgery followed by irradiation therapy is suggested as the most suitable management. Hyperthermia also was adopted in treating subcutaneous metastasis, but its role has yet to be fully defined.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Roxithromycin disposition in tonsils after single and repeated administrations.

Levels of roxithromycin in serum and tissue were investigated in 29 subjects undergoing tonsillectomy. A total of 13 subjects received a single oral dose of 300 mg, and 16 received four oral doses 12 h apart as follows: a 300-mg loading dose followed by three 150-mg doses. Measurable levels of roxithromycin were present in tonsil samples of 11 of 13 subjects in the first group. The mean levels in tonsils and serum were 0.8 microgram/g and 6.7 micrograms/ml, resulting in a mean tissue/serum ratio of 0.16. In the multiple-dose group, roxithromycin was found in 14 of 16 subjects at mean levels in tonsils and serum of 1.6 micrograms/g and 8.7 micrograms/ml, and the tissue/serum ratio was 0.23.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Phase II double-blind randomized study of lonidamine and radiotherapy in epidermoid carcinoma of the lung.

Patients with non metastatic squamous cell lung cancer were treated with radiotherapy (RT) plus lonidamine (LND) or placebo (PLAC), according to a randomized double-blind study design. Treatment with lonidamine 150 mg t.i.d. (27 patients) or placebo (23 patients) started 3 days before RT, lasted up to 7 months. Partial responses were observed in 14 and 6 patients respectively in the LND + RT and PLAC + RT groups. Statistical analysis of the survival curves showed no significant difference between the LND + RT (median 311 days) and PLAC + RT (median 193 days) groups. Stage III patients survived significantly longer (p less than 0.05) when treated with LND + RT (median 318 days) than with PLAC + RT (median 163 days). No synergistic toxic effects between radiation and LND were noted. To confirm these data a new and larger multicentric study is now in progress.

Aged↗